Judge lets Fresno murder case against Stewart Coleman move forward

A Fresno County judge again let the murder case against Stewart Coleman move toward trial after prosecutors presented additional evidence in the killing of 70-year-old Carl Johnson near North Cleo Avenue and Roberts Avenue in northwest Fresno. Coleman, 46, is accused of shooting Johnson on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, and has pleaded not guilty.

The ruling came after prosecutors showed an image of a handgun recovered from the scene and argued the evidence was strong enough to keep the case in the trial pipeline. Johnson’s family attended the hearing and watched from the gallery. At earlier court dates, relatives wore matching shirts reading “Justice for Carl.”

Defense attorneys pushed back hard, telling the court prosecutors still had not established malice aforethought, the legal element needed to support a murder charge. They also raised mental-health concerns, including that Coleman has schizophrenia, as they argued the state had not met the burden required to send the case forward.

The judge rejected those arguments and ruled, for the second time, that enough evidence exists for the case to proceed.

Johnson was shot at or near Coleman’s northwest Fresno home, where he had gone to pick up fishing equipment connected to Coleman’s late father, a friend who had fished with him for years. Fresno police arrested Coleman at the scene after the shooting, and the case has remained active for nearly 11 months as the legal fight has moved through multiple hearings.

Wanda Coleman, Stewart Coleman’s mother, testified in an earlier court hearing. Coleman is scheduled to return to court on July 28.